MedNous | Business of medical innovation

Seed financing for German biotech

A German biotech company with genome editing technology has raised €8 million in seed financing to progress a nuclease-based product for cancer. Akribion Therapeutics GmbH is a 2024 spin-out of the industrial company BRAIN Biotech AG which supplies enzymes and proteins to the biotech industry. Akribion has in-licensed a nuclease from BRAIN which it says has promise for treating cancers. Its lead product will be developed for HPV-induced oropharyngeal head and neck cancer.

Sanofi increases R&D spend

Sanofi SA increased in spending on research and development in 2024 as it moved into new technologies and advanced its position in diabetes in order to strengthen its position as a proprietary drug producer. This is ahead of the spin-out of its consumer healthcare business Opella which is expected to take place, at the earliest, in the second quarter. The company’s R&D spend in 2024 was €7.4 billion, up by more than 14% from a year earlier and represented 18% of sales.

Roche expands pipeline

The Roche Group launched two new medicines in 2024 and expanded its portfolio with the acquisition in November of Poseida Therapeutics Inc, a developer of allogeneic cell therapies. The deal, valued at $1.5 billion, capped a year of expansion for the Swiss company which grew sales by 3% in Swiss francs and by 7% at constant exchange rates. This was despite the loss of exclusivity for six legacy medicines which saw a sales decline of CHF 1 billion.

Recent Appointments

Other news

Seed financing for German biotech

Sanofi increases R&D spend

Roche expands pipeline

Real-world data should drive obesity drug use, by Femida Gwadry-Sridhar (108.94 KB)

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January 2025 edition of MedNous

January 2025 edition of MedNous

Real-world data should drive obesity drug use, by Femida Gwadry-Sridhar (108.94 KB)

Recent Appointments